


in the sunless hours

by ariya167



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/F, Femslash February 2019, Rated T for language, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-25 06:00:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17719478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariya167/pseuds/ariya167
Summary: Ty Lee’s waiting for Mai when her shift at the library ends, the pouring rain and grey sky not managing to dim her bright smile. Even her umbrella is a loud, shiny pink. Despite herself, Mai almost smiles.





	in the sunless hours

Ty Lee’s waiting for Mai when her shift at the library ends, the pouring rain and grey sky not managing to dim her bright smile. Even her umbrella is a loud, shiny pink. Despite herself, Mai almost smiles. 

“Is that a smile I see?” Ty Lee asks, giggling, and Mai frowns. Fuck.

“I think that would shake my impenetrable air of mystery,” Mai says wryly, setting off down the street with Ty Lee. It’s been raining for hours now, and puddles splash around her ankles, but at least the temperature’s mild.

Ty Lee laughs again, bumping Mai’s hip with hers. “I’m sure your air of mystery is as strong as ever.”

Mai snorts, and they settle into a comfortable silence. 

“Oh!” Ty Lee says when they cross the street, snapping her fingers in the way that usually means she’s remembered something. “Did Sad Italian Harry Potter Who Drinks Too Much Coffee finally work up the nerve to ask you out?”

“Not yet,” Mai says, and Ty Lee clucks in sympathy. Whether it’s directed at her or Sad Italian Harry Potter is unclear. That’s not his real name, obviously, but sometimes she needs something to break the monotony. “Honestly, I hope he does soon. I almost feel bad for him, moping away in the stacks.”

Ty Lee laughs again, the sound bright and clear in the rain. Mai’s met plenty of people who’d thought she laughed too much, who were fed up with her relentless optimism. Mai won’t lie-she’s had those sorts of thoughts before, until she realized that no part of Ty Lee was fake or insincere, and now, it’s one of the things she loves about her. 

Ty Lee walks her up to her apartment on the fifth floor, because she’s just that nice, and Mai hesitates in the doorway, fiddling with her keys.

“Do you . . . want come in?” she asks, hating how unsure she sounds, but Ty Lee only beams.

“Of course!” she says cheerfully, and walks inside with her.

Mai gratefully slips out of her wet coat and boots, wriggling her feet in her thick, and thankfully still dry, socks. “Tea?” she asks, padding over to the kitchen while Ty Lee takes off her coat.

“Do you have ginseng?” 

Mai checks the cupboard. “Yeah. I’ll make you a cup.”

When the tea is brewed, Mai brings it out to Ty Lee, and joins her where she’s sitting cross-legged on the couch. Mai decides the rain’s pretty nice, if you’re sitting inside and listening to the noise instead of stomping through puddles and getting soaked on the street. 

Her tea is hot, near-scalding the way she likes it, and Mai relaxes, with her hot tea and warm socks, the sound of the rain outside and Ty Lee’s gentle presence beside her. 

It’s a mundane, dull thing, just sitting there and sipping at her tea, but Mai’s skin doesn’t itch and crawl with boredom, not with Ty Lee next to her. It’s a strange feeling, but not a wholly unwelcome one.

In fact, as Ty Lee beams at her, drawing her in for a kiss, the only thought that runs through Mai’s mind is that there’s nowhere she’d rather be.


End file.
